#horribly turned on. kaiba PLEASE pull my hair. please

[kaibacorpintern]

halloween costumes for yuugi’s halloween party, year SIX ✨

Atem: wearing a chef's outfit with the tall hat. Linguini from Ratatouille

Yuugi: wearing little rat ears and whisker makeup. Remy the rat from Ratatouille

Ryou: Astarion from Baldur's Gate 3 but Jou's like "heyy nice costume! lord of the rings right?" and ryou steams because first of all lord of the rings elves have LONG HAIR, rings of power was NOT accurate in its depiction of elves it gave elrond SHORT hair which is nonsense, and anyone who knows anything about high elves knows that tolkien elves have long hair but that doesn't mean ALL elves have long h

Jou: already across the room. dressed as snake from escape from new york. the eyepatch is really fucking up his beer pong game

Honda: Luigi, looking cute but annoyed. Jou was supposed to come as Mario but he changed his mind without telling him.

Otogi: sexy cat =^-^=

Anzu: Katniss Everdeen. drunk. Atem confiscates her bow and arrow after she takes aim at Kaiba for real and announces that the odds are not in his favor.

Mai: Cowboy Barbie. Did not need to buy a single thing for her costume she already had all the clothes

Malik: Buttercup the PowerPuff girl. incredibly mad. steaming.

Isis: she was SUPPOSED to be Blossom.

Rishid: he was SUPPOSED to be Bubbles. LIKE THEY DISCUSSED. Instead, he and Isis are dressed in dour brown clothes and he's carrying a fake pitchfork and wearing glasses. They're famous painting American Gothic by Grant Wood :)

Mokuba: Wednesday Addams, the movie version (but he knows the whole dance)

Kaiba: KaibaCorp F1 driver. Still incensed about last year's evil trick so he refuses to talk or drink anything and wears his racing helmet the whole time. It's not until Atem hits on him ("hey kaiba. why don't we find out what happens when you pull my hair?") that everyone realizes "kaiba" was actually Isono the whole time, deeply uncomfortable.

Real Kaiba: at home, happily handing out candy to trick-or-treaters and playing Baldur's Gate 3, romancing Karlach.

[steve0discusses]

Yugioh S2 Ep 28: Marik Ishtar Canonically Only Weighs 121 lbs

Yo, I got hella sick this week and slept for what felt like 3 straight days, so because I’m still not fully functional (like I just found french fries in my front pocket of my sweatshirt and I have no idea when over the past three days I put that in there), in celebration of finally being awake, lets watch a lucid dream put to the screen, that’s right, it’s time for Yugioh.

Last we left off, Yugi has decided to throw this heavy chain and anchor over Joey’s neck--referring of course to the golden cursed necklace and not the actual chain and anchor that is hanging above them and about to kill them (but probably weighs the same but we’ll get to that realization later). I was really hoping that we’d get to see Pharaoh pull up in the corner like a little shoulder angel and just start shouting at Joey, but apparently you can’t catch the Pharaoh Dad curse that easily.

So apparently I missed THIS the last two episodes--but there’s a huge ass Death Clock above the anchor? Seriously, there’s been a time limit this whole time!?

I would be jumping into the ocean the moment I saw this clock, I just cannot even fathom the thought of playing a 20 minute card game. Like once my older brother--a different bro than my younger bro who edits this blog, this is my Chaotic Neutral bro--decided to shove 5 different Uno decks together to create an ultimate deck that was almost entirely wilds and draw 4′s and it was such an excruciating experience, that my Mother secretly threw the game away. Forever scarred.

Anyway, now that he’s strapped with Pharaoh in a Box, finally things got weird enough that Joey snapped out of it. First time he snapped out of it was because of a dragon...second time was the puzzle...he has yet to even kind of recognize Tea strapped in a bondage chair with a giant storage unit threatening to crush her--that one doesn’t seem to bother him.

Joey has a very selective memory, but he only seems to come to for about 10 seconds at a time and mostly just sweats a lot whenever he does.

(read more under the cut)

And as Joey pulls out the same piece he once threw out a school window and into a really fancy fountain, he has a very quick flashback to Season One. Or Season Zero, depending on which version you like better. (What school has a fountain, PS? Was that a quick donation from the Kaibas so the principal could shrug off some demerits?)

And so Joey puts the puzzle back together and back over his neck.

It’s fine. Go back to throwing fireballs at your best friend, but if you litter, then that’s just way too far. I mean the show has to stretch this out four episodes anyway, so despite their endless friendship love--Joey is still possessed and we have nothing left to give him unless Yugi just starts unloading belts.

Really confused at how this magic even works or operates when the puzzle is so far away from Yugi, but maybe Pharaoh has a battery life like a wacom tablet.

Man, so there really is no way to have any privacy when that guy’s in your head huh? Like can’t even hang up the puzzle when you’re on the toilet--no--he’s just...always around. This is the worst curse.

Back on the boat, the story boarding team realized that Marik is an underage teenager and cannot drink alcohol on TV.

I mean he didn’t even have a bottle of whatever he’d drink to fill that glass (milk, I’m assuming. Marik seems like the type of person that’d put ice in his milk.) But all that was drawn next to him was just one bucket of ice. Marik’s just back here stress chewing ice like a pregnant woman.

PS I just looked up Marik’s age with a quick Google Search and can we talk about something real fast--just real fast--JK I’m gonna talk about it a lot.

+++++RATHER LONG WIKIA WORMHOLE WEIGHT DISCUSSION FEEL FREE TO SKIP++++++++++

Age‎: ‎16 <---which seems a little young, but OK, it’s an anime

Weight‎: ‎121.254 lb <------- EXCUSE ME, WIKIA!?

Height‎: ‎1.8 m ; 5.906 ft 

He is nearly 6 ft feet tall and 120 lbs!?

Y’all.

Marik HAS NO BONES.

As a reviewer, it’s not my job to go around saying if drawing Marik way too skinny for a normal human being is right or wrong, because that’s a discussion that you can find plenty of info on. I’m pretty sure the people who made this show never expected when they first drew Yugi’s crazy eyes and horrible hair that we’d have a generation that would point to it and say “that’s hot”

And I’m not saying any of these characters have eating problems either, because we’ve seen all of them eat healthy meals. The shocking thing is that they gave these fake characters--remember these aren’t real people, they are cartoons--a specific numeric weight.

Blood type I expect, other random anime tidbits I expect--but weight seems super duper random and so awkward. Like, why do we have this information? Was it on a card or something? Like did the intern who came up with this weight number even research like...how much a normal human weighs??? Did they pull this number out of their ass???? None of these numbers make any sense, and they have these for apparently every single person who has appeared on the show. It’s incredible.

Man, Marik’s still wearing Baby Gap over there. Which...that explains the very small hoodie.

...one sec, let me look at the stats on Yugi.

Weight‎: ‎92.594 lb Height‎: ‎1.53 m ; 5.02 ft

OH NO. Who did this!?

He can’t even ride a roller coaster yet! Well, that explains a lot of the need for so many belts on this show. Yugi hasn’t hit the big triple digits yet.

Oh, Yugi.

And since we’re talking about numbers, lets talk about that puzzle now that we’ve talked about Yugi’s body weight. And like, lets be real--this is a cartoon and so of course it weighs magically nothing in the physics of the show...but lets just see, using math, how much this is if a 7 inch isosceles pyramid were made of solid gold (assuming that there is no gap in the middle, because that’s the way I’ve personally interpreted it.)

Now I’m gonna throw out a number and if you disagree, that’s cool beans and I don’t care, I was an art major, leave your math in the comments. But my math: It’s roughly 60 lbs. Some people online say it would only be 2 kilo’s but I don’t know what planet they’re from. Gold is .7 lbs a volumetric inch

Of course this weight also depends on how heavy the chain is, but I mean...the chain is stronger than Joey Wheeler and Tristan combined hitting it repeatedly with a pipe. It’s gotta be a car-towing/superlock chain.

a 20 inch heavy duty tow/lock chain is like 15 lbs, from what I see on Ebay.

So that pyramid necklace, indeed, is 75 lbs--4/5 of Yugi’s weight.

Now lets say you think there’s a gap in the middle and each piece has about a half-inch thickness, we’ll subtract about 43 lbs.

That’s still a 32 lb necklace guys, it’s about a third his weight!

Now lets say this was gold plated--first off, it’s not. But, lets say it’s entirely copper AND it’s hollow. That necklace is still 7 lbs with a 15 lb chain which is 23 lbs.

So, in all, Yugi actually weighs more than most people on this show--but it’s only because of the necklace, meaning the strongest thing in Yugioh, other than the endearing power of friendship between Joey and Yugi, is Yugi’s neck.

I also looked up Seto Kaiba and it didn’t say his weight right away but it did say this

Favorite Food‎: ‎Filet Mignon with Foie Gras Sauce

Damn.

Why does Seto Kaiba crave freakin ducks? Someone please give this poor child some candy. Give the whole cast candy.

+++++++END RANT OF EVERYONE’S WEIGHT ACCORDING TO WIKIA. I’M NOT EVEN SURE WHY WE KNOW THIS?+++++++

Meanwhile, on the other side of town, the boys are still babysitting Serenity, who has the pure muscle mass of 108 lbs, which is nearly 20 lbs more than Yugi Muto and only about 10 lbs less than Marik Ishtar.

She could probably lift Marik Ishtar. TBH with OP buff Wheeler stats like that, Serenity could probably punch out half the cast and does not need babysitting.

Duke Devlin is still following them around. I don’t really know why. No thugs are after Duke. Duke can just leave whenever he wants to, but he’s either so fascinated by Tristan’s predicament, or so enamored by Serenity’s soft hair and beautiful bandages, that he’s decided to follow along like Bakura in Season 1.

Except Bakura in Season 1 followed along because he wanted to screw them all, I’m pretty sure Duke won’t be doing that because I’m fairly positive that dice earring he got off of Etsy isn’t a millennium earring. I’m fairly positive he isn’t going to randomly kill everybody. I don’t know if this show could handle yet another villain dead set on destroying the world.

This love triangle between Tristan, and a girl who I didn’t think was real in S1, and Duke Devlin, the guy who was in a one-off at the end of S1 when the season should have already ended. So this is happening now. Interesting choice, show.

Serenity is like 12, right? Like her brother’s 14-16 and she’s like 11-13?

This show has a cast mostly full of people who are all the same age yet they keep shipping the few people that are either too young or waaaaaaaaaaaaaay too old. (except for Yugi and Joey, of course, who are the same age)

Duke Devlin, with this newly found responsibility, immediately walks a blind person into the street.

Anyways, speaking of ships that are way too old for this show, look who’s here and driving the dumbest convertible I’ve ever seen drawn.

And on the other side of town, the show edited out most of this violent nonsense for me.

Mai’s car, straight from fisher-price. I can’t stop looking at it.

So um...in the time it took to get Tristan, pick him up, turn around, and then drive here it was like...a 2 minute drive?

But, youknow, consider the Kaiba’s perspective. You’re watching this effed up duel straight from the bowels of Satan, and you hear a car pull up, and you’re like “oh finally, someone’s come to help us” and you turn around, and it’s a blue clown car full of Mai Valentine, Tristan, that random horny kid from the class across the hall, and some blind woman?

So Mokuba, who weighs less than one millennium puzzle at 61 lbs, actually makes an attempt to explain everything as quickly as possible and this is like the fourth time this kid has had to explain to someone else what the hell is going on.

Ah, and now everyone’s a bystander.

Almost the entire cast is here now, right? At least Yugi will die with an audience.

Bandit Keith weighs 187 lbs, PS. He is, so far, the only character I’ve checked who weighs more than Yugi with the necklace on.

Anyway, their weights are all awkwardly available online and I’ll probably go back to forgetting that this random info exists (much like I consistently forget that Seto is only 6′1″ although he’s drawn like he’s 8 ft tall)

Next week on Yugioh:

So how much does Yugi’s hair weigh when all that product is on there? Does Seto ever eat that Filet Mignon he craves so bad? Is Mai in fact renting that car and does it get busted here in the Abandoned Warehouse neighborhood?

[nagito-komaedas-boxer-briefs]

YgoPridecember: Present

“You want me to meet you where?” Kaiba resisted from turning his nose up at the location that Atem told him. He’s delighted that his boyfriend is taking the initiative and arranging dates but why does he have to pick him up from such a common area.

“At my place of work. I have a surprise for you.”

Kaiba let out a sigh. ‘The things I do.’ “Fine.” He changed topics to lighter matters; finishing up his last minute work at the office. He will be damn if anyone calls him for anything before Christmas. After Atem hung up did he get his coat and BEWD scarf from the back of his chair along with his keys and wallet.

Kaiba took one of his faster cars; a sleek blue Porsche with a rear engine. He parked right outside of the ramen shop, ignoring the gawking on lookers and stares of people. ‘Where is Atem. I don’t see him outside.’

Kaiba matched in like he owned the place. The boss’ eyes bulged out of his head at the sight of the CEO. Everyone stopped eating; all attention drawn towards him.

Kaiba glared and that is enough to get the owner’s brain kick started again. “M-Mutou your husband is here.”

Atem peeked his head out of the kitchen, still in his work uniform. He took one glance at Kaiba before going in the back again.

Kaiba snarled. “Get out of here Atem before I leave.”

There’s hushed whispering before Atem showed up again in those puffy layers looking like a disgruntled bird. “I had to pick up my check Kaiba. The boss gave me the rest of the holidays off.” He gave him the stink eye but he didn’t care.

“Whatever. Come on.”

“Can you please drive back to the mall from before?”

Kaiba knew the area and what he was talking about, grunting as they both went back into the car. ‘Great more interaction with the public.’ The CEO knew that Isono is having a fit, probably sending out bodyguards and he will most likely end up on the news.

Kaiba drove off and parked his car right outside the doorway; not caring if he blocked anyone. He shoved his hands in his white coat pockets and used his long legs to stride quickly, hearing Atem pace behind him. He’s not even surprised that the shorter man is keeping up with him; expecting him to.

He ignored the dumb morons and staring again until someone had the nerve to bump into him. Kaiba turned to yell to see the idiot gone and Atem running after him. ‘Shit.’ Kaiba started to chase after then.

The former spirit did a flying kick at the guy and when the idiot attempted to pull out a knife while on the ground he disarmed him and stomped right on his face hard. If he wasn’t so annoyed Kaiba would be laughing. ‘They always underestimate Atem.’

“This man stolen my wallet.” Atem, with his giant parka and wild hair reminded Kaiba of him during their first encounter. Even the eye is in the center of his forehead, glowing.

The bodyguards came late as usual. Rushing in and apprehending the thief while Kaiba turned on his heel. Considering the matter over for more important things. Atem started walking with him again; wallet in hand. It’s a dungeon dice monsters one with various monsters on it. “Otogi gave me this after the ceremonial duel as a type of present. A present for friends.”

“Tch. I’m not jealous.” They eventually stopped in front of a jeweler. The same jeweler that Atem bought that horrible Blue Eyes White dragon hat that he did not keep.

Atem went inside and Kaiba watched him talk to the jeweler. He exchanged money and came over to his side near the door again. “I recall seeing you looking towards rings the last time we went shopping and decided to order a pair. I wanted to pick them up on Christmas Eve but they close early. The owner is kind enough to make an exception for me and finished them today.” His eyes soften and there’s the small smile that he usual reserves for his close friends towards him. “Merry early Christmas Kaiba. I hope you enjoy your present.”

They are simple gold bands but on the inside Kaiba saw the inscription of what he said the first time they met each other and strange other quotes such as “Step over his corpse,” from their interactions. There’s even small details such as his favorite monsters and virus card imprinted. The other ring has the puzzle along with Atem’s favorite cards. Personalized wedding rings.

“I can’t believe you bought me such a cheap thing.” Kaiba scuffed as he took both of them. He put one on his ring finger. “You better off saving your tiny check on something worthwhile.” He picked up Atem’s right hand and gently put the other one on his.

Putting his hands in his pockets, he turned around and closed his eyes. Not blushing down to his neckline.

[riyuyami]

A fanfic based on an au of an au of an au, haha.

So I mentioned before that I had an idea based on this idea, where during his travels, Yugi comes across the real Yami, and they join forces. Well, in this spinoff of that idea, crazy shit happens to Yugi and things don’t look well for him or Yami.

So yeah, ink demon!Yugi! :D

Summery: Sometimes you just gotta literally fuse with the man you hate so much in order to kill your doppelgänger.

Warning: body horror, written in detail, lots of… painful sounding events, though are rather short, still, reader discretion is advice

On with the fic!

--

Yugi had lost sight of Yami when they had been swarmed by black dragons and searchers, the little Toon had run to safety, but Yugi hadn’t seen which direction he went into. Gods above, he hoped his friend was safe somewhere. He would call out to Yami, but he needed to keep quiet, it’s been a while since he’s heard whistling and skittering in the pipes���

He quietly walked through the halls, being as careful as possible to not make too much noise, he even avoided stepping in ink puddles to keep from leaving shoe prints. But even with all of his careful efforts, he was spotted.

The walls around him suddenly grew dark with trails of ink, spreading along the old wood. There was shuffling from down the hall, of someone who had a twisted foot. Heavy breathing through clenched teeth sent shivers down Yugi’s spine, and he knew he was screwed, since the hallway he entered led only to a dead end and two locked doors…

Nervously, Yugi turned, holding his axe as he saw the monstrous copy of Yami come around the corner. It turned its head in the direction Yugi was in, and the man swore that fucking grin got bigger.

Your little axe won’t do anything to me, Yugi… “Yami” hissed through those damn teeth and Yugi took a step back. I see you’re alone…

Yugi narrowed his eyes. “He’s safely hidden somewhere you’ll never find him.” He sure hoped so…

“Yami” laughed loudly, with his strange, distorted voice, it sounded like he was laughing into a metal can, and it hurt Yugi’s ears, but at least he wasn’t screaming. I’ll find him, I always find you two. He took a step forward with his good foot, the other one dragging behind him.

“It’s wrong that you can talk…” Shortly after escaping from “Lady” and her demented desires for beauty and perfection, Yugi had found out from a nasty encounter (where he had almost died, luckily “Lady’s” screams from somewhere worked as a distraction and Yugi had escaped) that “Yami” could speak.

Though at the time, all he said was Yugi’s name, but it looks like his vocabulary has improved. Probably from the pendant around his neck, so much like Yami’s own, but so different. He knew Yami could use his, had seen him turn it into a sword and a shield already, but Yugi had always thought that “Yami’s” was a by-product of his creation.

Looks like it might have some powers to it, but this is all just speculation.

I rather like it… The monster grinned still. It’s nice to speak again…

This caught Yugi by surprise, again? Wait, could this bastard talk in the past?! “What are you talking about?” He gasped when he was shoved hard into the wall, shit! He moved so fast!

A wet, inky hand was pressed against his throat, choking him. Yugi struggled, trying swing his axe, but it was slapped out of his hand by the smaller hand “Yami” possessed. You always did ask too many questions, little Yugi…

Orchid eyes widened, wait, when was the last time he was ever called ‘little Yugi’? No… no, it couldn’t be… maybe the monster had overheard him being called that? This couldn’t be what happened to him, oh God…

“Yami” chuckled, pressing a little tighter, making Yugi wheeze painfully. I’ve been thinking… it’s rather hard to catch that little rough draft of a double, he’s eluded me for so long… he’s scared, but he’s stubborn, just like how you made him…

The monster leaned in closer, Yugi could smell the strong scent of rubber ink coming from the monster. He’s difficult to fight and catch, always was in the show… but there was always a strong weakness to him, that would make him break…

The grin was painfully wide. His friends are his biggest weakness…

“No…” Yugi gasped, was the monster going to use him as bait or something?

His dear bird is in a terrible battle with herself, and his mutt is probably dead for good this time… so all that remains is you, Yugi, and you’re perfect… he only has you left, and he’ll do anything to keep you safe, right..?

Yugi started to feel faint as his throat was squeezed tighter.

I think the best way to destroy him… is to make you mine… and have you kill him… an ironic situation, the first to betray me will kill the last to do so... hold still, this is going to hurt a lot…!

Before the animator could react properly to what he heard, his eyes widened in pure horror when “Yami’s” mouth snapped open, revealing terribly, sharp, misshapen teeth. It let out a horrible scream, the vertigo came back tenfold, enough to make Yugi gag as his body reacted terribly to the sound.

The hand released him and Yugi dropped, slumped on the floor, gasping loudly as his body tremored, his ears ringing, his vision a mess. But he still saw “Yami” get down on the floor, pulling him up to his knees. Yugi felt wet, ice cold things touch him, and it took him seconds to realize it was ink, coming from “Yami” as it did on the walls when the monster walked.

It felt horrible, like leeches, especially since it felt like it was biting into his skin. He hissed, trying to pull away from the tightening hold, before a surge of burning hot pain erupted from his shoulder. The Ink Demon had bit down right onto his right shoulder, digging his teeth in hard. Blood mixed with ink as Yugi sat there, frozen from the pain and cold sensations on his skin, staring at the slowly melting creator.

He felt sick, he felt things piercings into his skin from the bite, as if the ink was entering him through the multiple holes produced from the beast’s teeth. The tendrils of ink covered his right arm, and Yugi knew he had to get this thing off, before it did whatever it planned to do to him!

Weakly, Yugi struggled to get his axe, pleased that he was able to grab a hold of it, but his arm felt like it was on fire again as the skin started to bulge. Ink began to pour out of the pores and he screamed, both in fear and in pain.

“Yami”, though smaller now that his ink was in going into Yugi, managed to lift him to his feet, slamming him into a wall. More of the monster was pumped into Yugi, causing more changes, painful changes. If it was going to control Yugi, it might as well make him suffer what it suffered.

Yugi screamed in horribly pain as his left arm felt like it was being twisted wrong, like someone was gonna break it. The pain doubled, and he let out a choked sound when his right foot cracked, snapping backwards, just like how “Yami’s” foot was.

He almost vomited from the pain as more ink came out of him, falling from his hairline, streaking down his face in black lines.

It only took ten or so minutes of agonizing suffering and pain, but it felt like hours to Yugi as the world began to go black and he felt like he was falling.

The body collapsed on the hard, wooden floor, laying there in a puddle of ink. “Yami” was no longer standing there, it was gone, but Yugi remained.

Well…

It wasn’t really gone, it just found a new mode of transportation…

“Hehehehe…” Shifting, the body began to rise, getting to its mix-match feet. It bent down, picking up the pendant that had fallen to the ground during the body modification process.

Yugi… well, what could only be presumed to be ‘Yugi’ looked like a mess. His hair was full of ink, as his face was covered in it, except his left eye was exposed, black in the white, with a small, orchid dot glancing around.

The left arm was twisted wrong, as if someone broke it, just like the right foot. He was covered in spots and streaks of ink, his right arm completely soaked in thick, lumpy ink. What could be assumed to be his hand was wrapped tightly the axe still, soaked in the black liquid.

A shaky, toothy grin pulled at his lips as he stumbled, trying to get his bearings. He laughed as he leaned against a wall, feeling a struggling inside of him. “Oh… try as you might to gain control, little Yugi, you are in for the ride. I hope you don’t mind, but I feel that using our flesh suit is the most perfect way to destroy that treacherous doppelgänger.”

He let out a sharp, harsh laugh, ink and blood dripping out of his mouth as he coughed, limping his way out of the hall to find the little Toon.

Unknown to the creature, Yami was very close, so close that he had seen everything through a ventilation shaft grate.

TBC?

--

I dunno if there is gonna be a part two, but there might be if people want one.

Sorry, this could have been better, but I’m tired, and wanted to get this idea written before I forgot it.

It’s funny, this goes against my normal headcanon that the monster really is the little Toon, but I’m also a fan of the idea that the monster is actually a corrupted human, so in this? Yami is his own character and “Yami” is a ink demon/human hybrid (its Kaiba btw)

[techno-sorcerer]

Adjusting to the Dark Chapter 3: Twisted Reflections

Story Summary: After recovering from an attack, Kaiba attempts to return to work. The problem: it was a vampire attack, and he didn’t recover so much as turn. Meanwhile, demons lurk ready to strike and take Kaiba Corp at the first sign of weakness

Chapter Summary: As he changes into clean clothes Kaiba has a moment to reflect on what had gotten him to that point and the current state of his body.

Words: 2,819

Chapter Content Warnings: brief discussions of dysphoria, mentions of cissexism (trans broken arm syndrome, no specific incidents in the chapter), mentions of child abuse, hallucinations, unreality (the chapter has actual hallucinations and... magic stuff... that’s real but not physically... though Kaiba isn’t distinguishing them, it should be clear which is which, but I’m including this for that reason.)

Other Notes: First, it didn’t fit nicely into the summaries, but I include here a mention of my transmasc Kaiba headcanon, and I figured that may be something people would be interested in hearing before the cut. It would at least get me interested in a work :) Also, If I am missing a content warning that you think I should have please tell me. Things are... weird.

Chapter One: tumblr, ao3

Kaiba started stripping the moment the bathroom door closed behind him. If the detectives hadn’t specifically asked for them, he would have tossed them in the trash and then ordered them incinerated for good measure. Even glancing at them made him nauseous with the memory of the dumpster. But, alas, he had to hold onto them and instead neatly, if hastily, folded them and set them aside. Only two things made him pause for a moment.

First, there was indeed a red stain across the collar of his inner shirt, still dark but brighter than the web of blood across his hand. The stain was two neighboring splotches that were just large enough to connect in the middle with a few drips heading towards the shirt’s shoulder. With the front of his shirt soaked and stained a sickly brown and other splotches scattered across the fabric, the red smear didn’t appear that out of place. Hell, it could have been mistaken for a ketchup stain if he hadn’t remembered being hurt there. That and there was an actual glob of ketchup on his outer shirt’s elbow that had a completely different consistency.

Just as with the blood on the back of his hand, Kaiba was suddenly tempted to sniff it, but the stench fortunately prevented him from instinctively acting on it.

Kaiba scowled. It shouldn’t have been a temptation in the first place. Then again, his nose shouldn’t have decided to be so damn informative. His nose had no reason, no right, to tell him if someone was healthy or nervous or if no one had been there for the past hour, and if it dared to tell him that, there must be something wrong with it, him, or both. Hell, it wouldn’t be the first time his brain had fucked up. He shouldn’t trust it, yet somehow he couldn’t convince himself not to. And, with that failure, the pang of curiosity lingered.

The second thing that gave him pause was a more practical issue: what to do with his packer. He felt naked without it, and he still had things to do and people to interact with before he went home. Even if no one else noticed, he would notice and that would be enough.  His skin crawled at the thought, and he considered placing it on the sink counter rather than in the pile. It's not like the detectives had a warrant for them anyway; he was complying to help prove his story, which the packer wouldn’t help with.

He curled his lips in thought.

At least with his binder there were health concerns to worry about. He had in the past forgotten to take the binder off after a long night working and had, upon realizing it, regretted the decision, feeling it press against his chest and constricting his breathing. Wearing it for four days straight… a shiver went down his spine. Even now he felt it press uncomfortably against his chest, so he pulled it off, accidentally creating a tear in the process. As soon as it came off, his chest and ribs adjusted to normal, but strangely being able to breath wasn’t that much of a relief. He vaguely considered putting it back on.

But, the packer and the binder were also completely unsanitary, and his disgust at keeping anything- even something as important as them- that had spent the past four days with him in the dumpster eventually won out. The smell alone was enough to give him second thoughts.

A sigh escaped Kaiba’s lips. At least, despite the years before he took blockers and the weeks at a time that Gozaburo would withhold them as punishment, his breasts were small; he could probably get through the night. But, there was a chance it could make his hospital visit later more difficult. He had carefully vetted his usual doctor to make sure that they could see past gender and hormones to any problems Kaiba needed addressing, but his usual doctor probably wasn’t up right now. He hoped that being assaulted and missing for four days would help focus the doctor’s attention, but people could be dense and frustrating. If Kaiba could get away with not dealing with them he would.

Kaiba wished that he had planned for this better when leaving a change of clothes in his room so that he could have a second packer on hand; however, he had never planned for this anyways. The clothes were for school nights that he spent at the office. He had assumed for example that he would at least have the shoes from the previous day, and now he would have to go with just his replacement socks or barefoot.

Before Kaiba could change into his new clothes, he needed to clean himself. he wandered over to the sink and just as he was about to turn the faucet on, he noticed something odd in the mirror.

His reflection was dark, as if he was cast under a deep shadow, not the diffuse shadows cast under fluorescent lights but like the shadow in the corner under the bed which obscured the details of anything down there.  On the left side of his chest, trailing down from what he guessed was the location of his heart was the darkest, and there the shade roiled like the clouds in his dream. His eyes, meanwhile, radiated a soft pale glow. The oddest part was that only his reflection was effected; the mirror showed the rest of the room as it should be.

He stared at the mirror, then down at himself.

Kaiba couldn’t say he looked how he should. His whole body was a sickly pale, except his feet which had a ring of off pink around the soles. And, on top of that he was filthy. Goop dripped down his front, where his wet shirt had stuck to his skin. He could still feel his hair cling to the right side of his face, while the rest was knotted and messed to oblivion. No, he looked absolutely horrible, barely human. But, there was nothing on his chest, and his skin was directly touched by the fluorescent light above.

He closed his eyes, counted to five, and then opened them. His reflection hadn’t changed.

“That...” As he opened his mouth he noticed another problem with his reflection: canines that were longer and sharper than they should be. He passed his tongue over his teeth. They were the right length; they were normal. “That isn’t real,” Kaiba muttered to himself.

He’d certainly had stranger hallucinations. His hallucinations were rarely pleasant, so clearly they’d draw from a nightmare, myth, and a glimpse of his attacker. And, the fact that he was still recovering from an attack meant that he shouldn’t be surprised his brain was acting up. Best to ignore it.

Sighing, he dunked his head under the sink and let it run. The process was awkward. He bumped his head against the sink twice, and he accidentally pulled his own hair as his fingers caught on tangles. But, there was also a relief as the smells from his hair started disappearing, and though Kaiba could not see the bottom of the sink bowl from this angle, he could imagine swirls of brown liquid pouring and of his hair and spiraling down the drain. He would clearly need to shower again when he got home. There was no way that this would be enough, but it was a start.

Kaiba then grabbed a mound of paper towels from the dispenser and finished cleaning. He pushed off the film from his skin, along with quite a few dead skin cells. He dug under his fingernails to get the last pieces of trash. He rubbed the blood off of the back of his hand to reveal pristine skin.

With each paper towel tossed in the trash can, Kaiba could feel the air become crisper. When he was done, he hazarded half a breath that, upon discovering its clarity, deepened to the point where he could taste the air. Kaiba found himself moving his head, testing how the air and odors shifted.

The air, for the most part, was sanitized, and solution still hung in the air. Different fumes wafted up from the floor, countertop, and mirror, but they all stung slightly. Especially the fumes from the countertop. Meanwhile, even just the smell of the soap was slippery, mostly flavorless except for a hint of vanilla. For the most part, the odors of the bathroom had been dealt with by the cleaning crew, but they hadn’t quite managed to get everything, since a faint trace of piss emanated from the far stall. Though he was fortunate to have his old clothes off him, they hadn’t stopped stinking either. Finally, he could swear he could smell Jun Liu standing guard outside the bathroom door. Old and starting to fail but still competent and powerful.

It was a lot to process. A lot to take in. Focusing too hard on it made his head hurt. Like his mind was being pummeled with detail after detail. Eventually, he was forced to lose focus and let his mind wander between the smells, strangely finding himself drawn towards those smells- even the less pleasant ones- connected with people.

However, it also felt natural. That some of the details were important, a part of a puzzle with something waiting for him at the end. Something for him to take. Like that was what he was supposed to do now.

What a ridiculous thought.

He turned his attention back to the task at hand and gathered the change of clothes that Arnold had brought down. Putting on the uniform, he mused on how none of this would have happened if he hadn’t decided to attend one of Domino’s public high schools.

In his mind, Kaiba didn’t have any reason to actually be there; he had learned nearly all of the material from Gozaburo’s tutors anyways. However, the Big Five and basically anyone else he encountered at the company had insisted that as a minor he continue his education. Even Kisara and Isono had pushed the idea, though at least they did so gently.

Still, everyone said that it would look bad for the company if he wasn’t in school. Running a major company was not something one could do as a hobby, Kaiba had retorted, so it wouldn’t it look worse if he were busy with homework. But, no, they had reminded him, how it looked didn’t actually depend on what he could and could not do, and as a minor it would look bad regardless. Everyone would assume until proven otherwise he wasn’t taking it seriously. A minor in school with good grades was an excellent student; a minor, especially one with such a dazzling future, out of school- no matter the reason- was presumed truant. If It was a lower job and he actually needed the money, the truancy may have been justified, but that wasn’t his situation and that wasn’t how people saw it.

So, here, why not continue with the tutor from before? You know, the one who worked you like a mule with barely a moment to catch your breath. Or look at this prestigious college prep school in Europe? Even if you completed your homework with time to spare, good luck getting back to corporate headquarters.  Kaiba never said this out loud but half suspected that the Big Five had suggested it to keep him busy and out of their hair.

Kaiba did not trust the Big Five one bit. They were simultaneously too loyal and not loyal enough. Hungry for power, they had easily turned on Gozaburo, the man who had brought them to the position and esteem they had now, but they also were still married to Gozaburo’s vision. Under them, the company would be the same war machine it had been under Gozaburo with a few cosmetic changes like taking marginally different projects with marginally different results. They didn’t want to change the ship or even change direction; they just wanted to be the ones at the helm, and unfortunately Kaiba had already decided to change course towards games: the bloodless battles, where the victor could claim the spoils and the loser suffer defeat without physical injury. Kaiba knew they would probably turn on him if not closely watched. He could not afford to be distracted by schoolwork.

It was Mokuba’s insistence on going to public school that inspired the compromise.

Of course he would continue his education. However, the school would be a short drive from the office. He may be bored out of his mind in class, but that gave him time to think about more important things. Kaiba couldn’t count the number of times he’d worked on his own projects right in front of the teacher, and so long as he wasn’t disruptive, did his work, and answered the teacher’s questions, the teachers learned not to care, or at least not to care too much.

This seemed to satisfy all parties involved, though some more than others. Kisara and Mokuba seemed the most pleased, and their heads seemed to fill with the bizarre notion that he might ‘get to know people his own age’ and ‘make friends’, as if he could afford to frivolously waste his time on such pursuits and as if anyone was ever in this world for anyone but themselves. At the same time, the Big Five were not happy so much as cornered into a compromise, but regardless they finally stopped pressing the issue.

It had therefore been a lucky break that he had even been in the school building let alone the classroom when Yugi Mutou had mentioned the White Dragon Necklace. Well, it had seemed like a lucky break at the time.

Kaiba finished buttoning his shirt and looked at himself in the mirror. He was still hallucinating, and in fact the shadows that obscured his skin were spilling onto his clothes. The smoke-like shadows that had been rolling out of his chest were more restrained, but the occasional wisp still poked through the fabric. It was a good thing- Kaiba conceded- that the hallucination was so blatantly impossible; the rock solid facts of the world always helped ground him. Even if he still struggled to ignore or at the very least not react to the visions, knowing they weren’t actually there was the first step.

But, however, easy this one was to deal with Kaiba never considered hallucinations a good sign. They came when he was sick, tired, and overworked. They came when he was scared that Gozaburo would lord something over him. They sometimes still came when he saw a mistake that Gozaburo would have lorded over him. They came when he failed to protect the few things he loved. They came to remind him of how powerless he was.

They came after he was attacked and left for dead. After waking up with corpses scattered around him. No, it had not been a lucky break.

The room began to bend and twist as everything that had happened came crashing down around him. People had died. He almost died. The floor appeared to crack and burst at the seems. He rubbed his neck and tried to get the image of the corpse’s ghastly lopsided stare out of his head. The walls warped further, and a fissure appeared between his feet. He closed his eyes and clutched onto the rim of the sink. He whispered, ‘This isn’t happening,’ again and again. Eventually, he opened his eyes. The room had settled down, and the floor was whole, but his reflection was still dark and wrong. He glared at his own supposedly glowing eyes.

Kaiba adjusted the shirt collar to make sure it was straight and proper. He arranged his still damp hair to look more presentable and approximate his usual cut. It was time to speak to Detective Shadi.

Kaiba went to grab the bag of dirty clothes and almost turned the door handle to leave before curiosity got the better of him. He reached down into the bag grabbed the collar of the dirty white undershirt and brought it to his nose. A quick sniff gave him all the information he needed.

It stunk. Of course it would. But, there were smells that he wasn’t expecting. There was something sweet and rich that permeated the area of the stain, yet… it was also burnt. Burnt with a side of rotten eggs. It repulsed him but in a way that was more personal than the rest of the debris. Like he knew it had been tampered with. Garbage was supposed to stink, but this stain wasn’t supposed to smell like that. It was his blood, and somebody had gone and messed it up. The ferocity of the thought scared Kaiba.

He stuffed the shirt back into the bag and opened the door.

Author’s Note: If you are wondering why I did what I did with the mirror: there are multiple versions of Vampiric lore around mirrors. One is that it is the silver lining that makes vampires have no reflection. Another is that mirrors reflect souls (of which vampires supposedly do not have). I decided to go with the later, but instead of vampires lacking a soul, their soul has been affected by the curse which shows up in the mirror. So basically I just ran with it in the complete opposite direction.

Also, this chapter is mostly world building before the plot picks up more next chapter, but I hope you enjoyed it. Plus there are important seeds for later here.  That and answering important questions such as what was he doing at that school anyways.

[almasy-fics]

Retail Hell

Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh Chapter: 7/? Rating: M (Subject to change) Warnings: Swearing, perving and aged up characters Pairing: Seto Kaiba/OFC Summary: Date Night Round 2, Electric Boogaloo!

Notes: A purely self indulgent piece of crap with added storyline! Please remember if the chapter contains both Japanese and English dialect, the English will be in italics.

AO3 Link Ko-Fi Link

This wasn’t one of Seto Kaiba’s finest moments.

Sure, he could brag that he was one of the smartest people in Japan.

That’s actually wrong. He is one of the smartest people in the world. His IQ made his business partners and investors tremble in fear. It was one thing he was unashamedly smug about.

He had ordered the both of them Soupe à l’oignon gratinée for their entrée; which translates to French Onion Soup for those playing at home, completely insistent that she would enjoy the courses he ordered for her.

Once the course was delivered however, he could tell by Rose’s furrowed brows that she was glaring at something. At him or the soup, he had no idea because the steam emitting from their first course had completely fogged over her spectacles.

A lapse of judgment indeed.

“Kaiba,” She breathed, the amused tone of her voice betraying the tense look adoring her face, “Don’t get me wrong, I love French Onion Soup as much as the next person, but…” Somehow she was able to seamlessly feel for her satchel on the table and fish out a cloth to wipe her glasses clean, “I did tell you I cannot see a thing without my spectacles, right?”

Ah shit.

“Before you even attempt to get this sent back, I will eat it you know? Just uh… Just refrain from looking at me for a little bit or something.”

“Right.” He was about to ask why when she pretty much showed him what she meant. Discarding her spectacles to her right, she picked up the soup spoon on her left and almost went cross-eyed to presumably keep the spoon and soup in her focus.

He had to hold in a snigger.

And made a mental note never to order her soup for as long as he lived.

Unless she pissed him off, then he would do it, for sure, one hundred percent.

Why?

Because no matter how much Seto Kaiba liked someone, he was an asshole.

The main course however, went much better than he expected.

“Sweet Jesus…” She murmured in English as the waiter placed down the delicately plated eye fillet, covered in a red wine jus, with a side of pan roasted garlic potatoes and mushrooms and a small side salad.

He’d never seen eyes visibly sparkle before, but the way her green eyes shimmered in the candlelight, he was most certain that he has just witnessed it for the first time.

His heart felt like it was going to flutter out of his chest.

“One hundred day aged, grass fed Wagyu beef eye fillet. One of the best in the country.” He commented, calmly picking up his fork and steak knife to begin eating. He noticed that all Rose could do was look back and forth from him and her plate in awe, her beautiful chest heaving in exhilaration.

“I-I can eat this?” She pointed at the steak.

“Of course you can.” He deadpanned, “I ordered it for you, medium rare. Is it not to your liking?” He’d be agitated if it were anyone else.

“No, not at all! Medium rare is perfect, it’s just I haven’t eaten or even seen a real steak since I moved to Japan. They are just so expensive and it’s like wow, it’s right in front of me and this whole place probably will cost half my monthly rent and-” Seto raised his hand to silence her but she kept going.

“-and… Thank you. Really, thank you Kaiba. I’m not used to this kind of thing and I may be acting confident but right now I am really shitting my pants because I’ve never had a boyfriend or anything like that and I don’t want to mess this up and now I feel like a spoiled brat because you’re going to have to pay for this because I don’t have the money to pay for my share and-”

Oh. He’s her first boyfriend.

“Enough Rose. That’s quite enough, but thank you for being honest with me.” She looked like she was about to hyperventilate, “I brought you here with full intentions of paying for dinner. Please, enjoy tonight.”

Rose looked at him for a moment, he was wondering if she was going to word vomit again.

“Uh yeah…” Her hands were shaking, but she picked up her knife and fork with relative ease and cut into the meat. He was almost expecting her to grab the glass of red wine and gulp it down.

There he goes, stereotyping Australians.

Rose was different.

Adorably different.

And Seto Kaiba never, ever found things or people adorable.

But the way he watched her eyes roll in the back of her head as she took the first bite made him crack a small smile.

She was adorably genuine. Much more than what he could say about his previous girlfriends.

And he was determined to get this one right.

“So family.” Seto started a simple discussion with her after things settled down a little mid way through their main course. Rose seemed to think for a moment before responding.

“What do you want to know?” She still seemed a little nervous about talking about her background.

“Have you got more than your grandparents?” He asked, taking a sip of his wine and she mirrored him, noticing that she took a marginally larger sip than he did.

“No.” She answered after a few moments, “My mum passed away when I was sixteen. And my father is dead to me.” The way she looked at him when she mentioned her father reminded him of himself whenever he spoke about his late step father. Something like that didn’t surprise him in the slightest.

Everyone has their stories.

“My grandparents became my legal guardians after he tried to kill me. I have a few uncles and cousins on his side but I don’t talk to them.” He felt his eyes widen at the revelation. Only last week she panicked about talking about herself, now she was willingly spilling her life to him.

It must be the wine.

He noticed that the bottle was almost finished and he had only had one glass.

Perhaps she was gearing herself up to talk more about her past.

“The tattoo?”

She pointed to her breast quizzically, a sad smile on her lips forming.

“Mum was your fan. She admired your determination.”

“I wasn’t in the professional circuit for that long if she passed away when you were sixteen.”

Her smile never faltered.

“But the look in your eyes said everything, and she admired that.” He was quite curious about her mother. Rose must have loved her very much to mark her own skin with a Blue Eyes White Dragon.

“How did she pass away?” He asked.

Rose remained silent.

The limo ride back to Rose’s was uneventful; the purple haired woman remained silent the whole way there. That was then that he noticed that she had fallen asleep.

She looked so beautiful with her powdered eyes closed and her mouth slightly open as she silently snored. Her glasses were close to falling off her face whilst her head was tilted to the side and he felt slightly guilty that he had to wake her up in a few moments.

But for now, he decided, that he would make her sleep more comfortable, even if it were just a little bit.

He slid his arm around her shoulders and brought her face to his chest, sliding her glasses off the bridge of her nose with relative ease so they wouldn’t get damaged in the position her put her in. She seemed to respond well with his action, one of her hands lazily dragged over to intertwine with his own.

He leaned back into the seat slightly to get in a more comfortable position for the both of them and looked down at her again.

He could get used to this.

“I am so sorry Kaiba!”

Seto chuckled at her.

“Its fine Rose, stop apologising.” He scolded, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Yeah but-”

“Enough.” He said as they got to her front door. She turned to face him, a hard blush on her cheeks and neck; she felt absolutely horrible for falling asleep on him and he wasn’t about to tell her that he maneuvered her into that position in the first place.

“Um…” She twisted her hands together, looking suddenly nervous, “I had a good night tonight Kaiba. I’d like to do this again if you still will be patient with me about myself.” She was being honest with him, that’s all he really wanted really.

“Tonight was adequate.” He smirked, “Be sure to be less nervous next time. I don’t bite.”

“Y-yeah.” She stuttered, giving him a smile. She turned to the door and fumbled in her satchel to find her keys.

Before she could put the key in the deadlock he cleared his throat and called her name.

She turned around, her eyes looking at him quizzically.

And then he leaned down, his hand gently grasping her soft cheek and tipping her head up. His lips met pure velvety softness and at that moment he never wanted to pull away. Rose’s lips were pure, tantalizing, untouched and he wished to give her a kiss to remember.

She uncertainly kissed back, but he took charge, massaging his lips with hers in a fluid motion, leaving her absolutely breathless when he pulled away. He swore that she now had a full body blush and he considered his venture a mission success.

“Good night Rose.” He chuckled and left her flustered and frozen at her front door.